1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to radio technology, and more particularly, to identification of portable antenna modules of radio receivers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide range of radio receiving devices—i.e., receivers that can work with various types of portable or removable antennas, is known. A typical example of such devices is navigation receivers. These receivers require identification of the antenna (or antenna module) used. Identification parameters of the antenna module are loaded into a microprocessor that processes radio signals. The parameters of the antenna can be, for example, antenna type, location of antenna phase center, etc.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,593,484 the antenna parameters are received via a radio channel or an induction connection channel. A disadvantage of this method is a need for a special additional channel for transferring data. This makes implementation difficult when both a service channel and a main data channel exist within a system. A transfer of a service data over a radio channel always requires an additional channel.
Accordingly, an improved method for identification of portable antenna modules and providing antenna parameters to the microprocessor is desired.